Dye sublimation is a process employing heat and pressure to convert solid dyes into gaseous form without entering an intermediate liquid phase. Such a process can infuse colored dye into certain compatible materials, such as polyester or ceramics, to create a permanent printed image on the material.
One drawback of current sublimation systems is that many are limited to sublimating a single product at a time. Adding the capability to sublimate multiple images would enhance profit-generating opportunities, increase energy efficiency, and reduce wear on system components. A difficult hurdle to overcome, however, is the minute precision and accuracy required to place and align multiple products onto transfer media in order to receive sublimated images.
One attempt at a dye sublimation printer system capable of sublimating multiple products simultaneously is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0248649 (the '649 publication). The '649 publication discloses a dye transfer sublimation system in which images to be sublimated are printed on a “ink transfer substrate” such as a synthetic fabric. An object to be sublimated is placed in a “pressure vessel,” the ink transfer substrate is placed on top of the surface of the object, and the printed images are sublimated to the object under high heat and either vacuum or fluid pressure. The '649 publication states that “multiple objects (of the same or different shapes) may also be sublimated concurrently.” This concurrent operation is achieved by manually “spacing the objects apart” within the pressure chamber and covering them all with either a single ink transfer substrate or multiple ink transfer substrates.
Although the systems and methods disclosed in the '649 publication may assist an operator in sublimating multiple products simultaneously, the disclosed system is limited. The '649 system does not easily lend itself to streamlined automation, as no integrated system is disclosed, and each of the products and printed ink transfer substrates must be manually placed and aligned within the pressure vessel. Particularly in embodiments of the '649 publication utilizing a fluid pressure sublimation system, it would be difficult if not impossible to align multiple images and products together manually with the desired level of precision and accuracy. The '649 system would also be unsuitable as a system in a retail environment that could be operated by an untrained customer. The '649 system contains significant limitations that would make it unsuitable for a merchant, such as a retail outlet, seeking to add a dye sublimation system capable of sublimating multiple products simultaneously at the demand of a customer.
Retailers seeking to deploy a dye sublimation transfer printing system are currently forced to select either systems that can only sublimate a single product at a time, or systems that can only sublimate multiple products after manual alignment in an error-fraught process requiring trial and error experimentation. Consequently, retailers are limited in revenue-generating capability, and also are unable to offer a full array of pricing options based on the efficiencies created by the disclosed system.
The disclosed system is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or elsewhere in the prior art.